The GENES Blog (GEnealogy News and EventS): Top stories concerning ancestral research in Britain, Ireland, and their diasporas, from Irish born Scottish based professional family historian, author and tutor Chris Paton. Feel free to quote from this blog, but please credit The GENES Blog if you do so. To contact me please email chrismpaton @ outlook.com.

A chance to see the Archives fascinating collections of documents, images and artefacts which reflect the experiences of the Jewish Community in Scotland over 200 years. See our Timeline and Displays Room and visit the beautiful Grade1 listed Garnethill Synagogue

I'm looking forward to attending my first PRONI (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) user forum meeting in Belfast on Friday, having missed the last couple of meetings. I've just received the minutes form the last meeting, and thought it would be worth sharing the news on recent cataloguing and digitisation initatives at the archive:

Church records to be digitised:

Dromore Cathedral – four registers, the earliest of which is a combined register dating from 1784-1816. [Also individual birth, marriage and burial register dating from 1816 up to 1845/1853]. PRONI already holds copies of the registers on mmicrofilm but the quality of the reels has deteriorated over the years.

D4523 – the Brabazon Sharpe family of Galway and Mayo. The papers date from the early 1700s up until the mid-19th century. The collection includes the papers of Sir William Brabazon, 2nd Baronet of New Park (later Brabazon Park), Swinford, Co. Galway (1803-1840). Sir William was High Sheriff of Co. Mayo (1825-1827), a Justice of the Peace and an M.P. from 1835 until his death. He was a prominent individual in Irish public life, his wide-ranging correspondence touches on aspects of local administration as well as finance, family matters and estate management.

I'll update you all as to the more recent developments at PRONI this weekend.

Tuesday, 30 May 2017

I've just caught the last fifteen minutes of this week's Ancestry Hour (http://www.ancestryhour.co.uk) on Twitter - and it occurs to me that I don't think I've ever actually formally posted about it on this blog. Well a fair exchange is no robbery, and it helps me out, so here we go - a wee word about #AncestryHour!

Ancestry Hour takes place every Tuesday night on Twitter (www.twitter.com) from 7pm-8pm UK time. Simply post about anything to do with genealogy or familyhistory and add in the hashtag #AncestryHour, and everyone following the conversation will see the post. You can see some previous posts at https://twitter.com/ancestryhour, or just type #AncestryHour in the Search box.

So if you want a quick databurst of genealogy happenings on a weekly basis, AncestryHour is certainly one way to do it!

MyHeritage DNA’s new Ethnicity Estimate covers 42 different ethnic regions, more than any other major DNA company; and is uniquely provided for free to those who upload their DNA data from other services

TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah, May 30, 2017 - MyHeritage, the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing, and the makers of the successful MyHeritage DNA product, today announced the launch of its new and improved Ethnicity Estimate. The new analysis, developed by the company’s science team, provides MyHeritage DNA customers with a percentage-based estimate of their ethnic origins covering 42 ethnic regions, many available only on MyHeritage, representing the most comprehensive report of its type available on the market. This fascinating report gives users a much better understanding of who they are and where their ancestors came from. The Ethnicity Estimate is presented in an original and engaging format, making it not only interesting but also fun to watch and share.

MyHeritage is unique among the main industry players in allowing users who have tested their DNA already with another service to upload - for free - their data to MyHeritage. Those users receive DNA Matches for free, for finding relatives based on shared DNA. Beginning this week, users who have already uploaded their DNA data to MyHeritage, or who will upload it in the coming months, will receive - for free - the new Ethnicity Estimate. This benefit is not offered by any other major DNA company.

Development of the new Ethnicity Estimate raises the number of ethnic regions covered by MyHeritage DNA from 36 to 42. It was made possible thanks to MyHeritage’s Founder Populations project — one of the largest of its kind ever conducted. For this unique project, more than 5,000 participants were handpicked by MyHeritage from its 90 million strong user base, by virtue of their family trees exemplifying consistent ancestry from the same region or ethnicity for many generations. All project participants received complimentary DNA tests and allowed MyHeritage’s science team to develop breakthrough ethnicity models based on the generated data. Thanks to this analysis, MyHeritage DNA has become the only mass-market percentage-based DNA test that reveals ethnicities such as Balkan; Baltic; Eskimo & Inuit; Japanese; Kenyan; Sierra Leonean; Somali; four major Jewish groups - Ethiopian, Yemenite, Sephardic from North Africa and Mizrahi from Iran and Iraq; Indigenous Amazonian; Papuan and many others. In some cases, competing products can identify and report an aggregated region (e.g., Italian & Greek), whereas MyHeritage has better resolution and identifies Greek, Italian and Sardinian ethnicities separately.

MyHeritage’s new Ethnicity Estimate is delivered to users via a captivating “reveal” experience (view example). It features animation and, as of this week, also original music composed by MyHeritage. Each of the 42 ethnicities has a distinctive tune, based on the region’s cultural elements; all tunes seamlessly connect to each other. This makes the report fun to watch and share over social media.

MyHeritage DNA user Tiffany Bowden said “I'm very happy, and very proud to discover where I come from, and through my MyHeritage DNA ethnicity results, now I have the background which helps me understand who I am as a person.”

“DNA is the future of the family history industry and we’re delighted to enter the DNA space with strong energies and a fresh perspective”, said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage.

“Leveraging MyHeritage's top assets which are its talented, technology-focused engineering team, and the gigantic internationally diverse web of family trees encompassing more than 2.5 billion profiles entered by our users, our comprehensive new Ethnicity Estimate has Innovation written all over it. We’ve been able to dig deeper where others had considered their work complete. Presented in a fresh look and generously given for free to DNA data uploaders, our users will be thrilled and can count on us to continue to innovate in DNA and delight them with new discoveries about who they really are.”

Dr. Yaniv Erlich, Chief Science Officer at MyHeritage, said, “For MyHeritage's science team, this major update of our Ethnicity Estimate is only an appetizer. There are excellent installments on the way, and users can prepare for a feast! We have detailed plans to increase accuracy, extend our Founder Populations project further, and improve the resolution for ethnicities of great interest to our users from highly diverse origins. Our goal is to use science to further the public good, and to bring the best innovations of our science team to the public.”

The MyHeritage DNA test consists of a simple cheek swab and takes less than two minutes to complete, with no need for blood or saliva. The sample is then mailed to MyHeritage DNA’s lab for analysis and the user is invited to view the results on the MyHeritage website, approximately four weeks later.

MyHeritage strengthened its position as the leader in global family history, when it launched the MyHeritage DNA kits in November 2016, which have rapidly become hugely popular ever since. The company’s mammoth user base of 90 million users worldwide, more than 7.7 billion historical records, massive user-generated family tree database and availability in 42 languages, all provide a robust foundation for MyHeritage DNA. The company’s DNA offering currently provides two main features: detailed ethnicity reports that reveal the user’s ethnic and geographic origins, and DNA Matches for finding relatives based on shared DNA. In recent months, people have been successfully using MyHeritage DNA to reunite with long-lost family members.

MyHeritage DNA kits are available at the affordable price of $79 + shipping. Order MyHeritage DNA, or alternatively, upload DNA data for free.

About MyHeritage

MyHeritage is the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage has transformed family history into an activity that is accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and groundbreaking search and matching technologies. Launched in November 2016, MyHeritage DNA is a technologically advanced, affordable DNA test that reveals ethnic origins and previously unknown relatives. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to find new family members, discover ethnic origins, and to treasure family stories, past and present, for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage.com

Saturday, 27 May 2017

Still catching up from some recent news. The following collections on FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org) are shown as being most recently launched or updated on FamilySearch - all are either English or UK collections:

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com) has added several datasets this week. The following collections for England are amongst them:

Surrey institutional records 1788-1939

Explore over 200,000 assorted records from 16 institutions across the English county of Surrey, including poor law unions, workhouses, schools, infirmaries, goals and more. Each result will provide you with a transcript of key details from the source material. The records cover 13 places in Surrey: Addlestone, Chertsey, Cobham, Dorking, Farnham, Godstone, Guildford, Hambledon, Redhill, Richmond Upon Thames, Southwark, Warlingham, and Woking.

Essex Baptism Index 1538-1917

Over 32,000 records covering 50 parishes across the county have been added to the Essex Baptism index. The collection now contains more than 279,000 records taken from a range of original parish and probate documents.

Sussex, Eastbourne Gazette Newspaper Notices

Over 186,000 records have been added to our collection of Eastbourne Gazette Newspaper Notices. The Eastbourne Gazette was a weekly tabloid paper first published in 1859.

Derbyshire Hospital Admissions and Deaths 1855-1913

Over 800 records have been added to our collection of Derbyshire Hospital Admission & Deaths. The collection now contains over 5,000 records taken from two different sources: Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, Deaths 1892 – 1912 and Victoria Memorial Cottage Hospital, Ashbourne Admissions 1899 – 1913.

I have no idea if this was intended to be a better interface for those accessing the site on a PC or from the use of a tablet, but users on both platforms now have much more scrolling to do to find other more useful features, such as recent additions, located well to the bottom and off screen.

Friday, 26 May 2017

TheGenealogist has just released four and a half million BT27 records for the 1920s. These Outbound Passenger Lists are part of the growing immigration and emigration record sets on TheGenealogist and contain the historical records of passengers who departed by sea from U.K. ports in the years between 1920 and 1929.

With the addition of this decade of records, the already strong Immigration, Emigration, Naturalisation and passenger list resources on TheGenealogist have been significantly expanded.

The fully searchable records released today will allow researchers to:

● Identify potential family members travelling together with SmartSearch. TheGenealogist’s unique system can recognise family members together on the same voyage. In this case it will display a family icon which allows you to view the entire family with one click.

● Find people travelling to America, Canada, India, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere in the Passenger lists of people leaving from the United Kingdom by sea.

● See images of the original documents which were kept by the Board of Trade's Commercial and Statistical Department and its successors.

● Discover the ages, last address and where the passenger intended to make their permanent residence.

● These fully indexed records enable family historians to search by name, year, country of departure, country of arrival, port of embarkation and port of destination.

Those with ancestors who travelled out of Britain will welcome this fascinating new release from TheGenealogist that adds to their Immigration and Emigration records which already includes passenger lists from as far back as 1896 and the valuable Naturalisation and Denization records.

Keggie Carew discusses her book ‘Dadland’, a story about a madcap English childhood, the poignant breakdown of a family, and dementia. The novel centres upon her father Tom Carew, an enigmatic, unorthodox character, who was an undercover guerrilla agent during the Second World War.
‘Dadland’ is the winner of the Costa Biography Award 2016 and a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller.

In 1948, from the introduction of apartheid in South Africa, racial discrimination galvanized the international community into protest. British people and black communities in particular attempted to lead the global opposition against apartheid.
Historian Dr Elizabeth Williams (Goldsmiths, University of London) will discuss aspects of the documents she looked at while writing her book ‘The Politics of Race in Britain and South Africa: Black British Solidarity and the Apartheid Struggle’ (2015).
Please note, due to a technical error this recording ended a few minutes prior to the end of the talk.

Andrew Lock discusses the progress made by the British Expeditionary Forces between the battles of the Somme (1916) and Arras (1917). Although lessons were learned during the Somme campaign, Arras clearly exposed command and preparation deficiencies, leading to setbacks and the highest casualty rate of any British offensive in the war.

Author: Andrew Lock Duration: 00:49:30

All can be listened to via the above links, downloaded from the sites, or listened to via iTunes.

Following the Act of Settlement in 1662, parishes in the United Kingdom were obliged to help those who were ‘legally settled'. If they could not fulfil the required criteria, they could be removed by force and sent to their parish of legal settlement.Removal Orders could be issued if the person or family were deemed to have no right to settlement in the parish. Removal Orders record the names of the poor persons involved, the parish from which they were removed and the parish to which they were to be removed. Removal Orders sometimes list all the children in the family and give their ages.Amongst those who were affected by removal were thousands of Irish applicants in England. If, upon examination, it was found that they had no right of settlement, they could be deported from the nearest port back to Ireland, at the time part of the United Kingdom. Often, families were placed on boats to the port nearest their home parish, but they still may have had a journey of many miles after disembarking. They would have had to pay their own way as the English parish would only pay enough for them to get to Ireland, not for the entire journey back to their original home parish.

NB: I presume that these removal lists were originally sourced from the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (http://parlipapers.proquest.com/parlipapers) collection, which is freely accessible via subscribing libraries across the UK. It should be noted that there are many such lists from the 1860s and 1870s in the archive, not just from England, but from Scotland and Wales also. You will find additional lists freely available on the Raymond's County Down website at http://countydown.x10.mx/html/index2.htm, as follows:

Return of all poor persons, removed from Scotland to Ireland 1867/1869

Return of all poor persons removed from England & Wales to Ireland 1867/1869

The Irish Education Inquiry published its second report in the year 1826, in Dublin, Ireland and aimed to provide a picture of the state of education in Ireland at the time. The stated goal of the commission was "To inquire into the nature and extent of the instruction afforded by the several institutions established for the purpose of education and maintained either in whole or in part from the public funds; to inquire also into the state of the diocesan and district Schools, and the Nature of the Instruction there given; for ascertaining whether any and what regulations may be fit to be established with respect to the Parochial Schools, and for reporting as to the Measures which can be adopted for extending generally to all classes of the People the benefits of Education." The report's findings were presented to the UK Parliament as Ireland was, as that time, part of the United Kingdom.The report also included the names of Masters and Mistresses employed in schools at that time.What can be found in the records?For each Master or Mistress found within the report, you may be able to find (where available):Their NameThe County in which they taughtThe Parish in which they taughtThe location of the school in which they were employed

Yesterday I submitted my resignation as one of the directors of the Scottish Archive Network Ltd, after four years in the role.

I've wished the Scottish Council on Archives (www.scottisharchives.org.uk) all the very best in trying to further plans for its proposed Scotland Online project, a replacement for the current SCAN catalogue (found at http://scan.org.uk/), which is in much need of updating and replacing. SCAN Ltd has previously contributed some funds towards trying to achieve this goal.

Until, and if, Scotland Online is eventually realised - in whatever form - SCAN remains the most useful platform currently to search for materials held in over 50 archives across the country. Note however, that it has not been updated in many years, and that in some cases, local archives now host their own online catalogues which may be more comprehensive - so always look to the local archive website also!

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

As someone who recently stood (and failed!) for election to my local government authority, I have certainly been made much more aware of a lot of activities to do with the electoral process and the rules of the Electoral Commission. One thing that never occurred to me however, was the role of local archives in the carrying out of elections, in particular within their immediate aftermath.

Most of the documentation from polling stations requires to be kept for a year in accordance with Electoral Commission regulations. This documentation includes the marked register used by the clerk at the polling station when they score off your name when you go to cast your vote, as well as the actual ballot paper you put your cross on in the polling booth. This year, as well as being on duty at the recent local elections, we will also be present at the forthcoming surprise General Election on 8th June to take custody of the documents. The work usually involves being present at the count overnight. We turn up about an hour before the polls close and we are there well after the count ends, because we have to pack all the counted ballot papers when the count staff leave and transport them to the Highland Archive Centre for safe keeping. In the event of a dispute regarding the election, these papers need to be available for scrutiny, so Records Management has an extremely important role to play.

In the aftermath of the terrorist outrage in Manchester, England, on Monday, a quick note on security upgrades now in place at institutions across the country.

The National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) has tweeted the following:We’ve increased our security at General and New Register House today – please bear with us as our team works to keep you safe.

Also in Edinburgh, the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk) Maps Collections department (@natlibscotmaps) has similarly tweeted the following:

In response to the horrific terrorist attack in Manchester the government terrorist threat level has been raised to Critical, meaning that an attack is expected imminently.The National Archives will open as normal and will operate a full service, however additional security measures will be in place. Visitors are asked to remain vigilant and report any concerns or suspicious activity to a security officer or member of staff.Our thoughts remain with the families and loved ones of the victims, the injured, and everyone affected by the attack.

I have yet to see if any other institutions have similar precautions enacted, but I think if planning a trip to any archive or library at present anywhere in the UK, it might be worth checking if any additional security requirements have been put in place that might affect your visit.

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

The whole of the UK is in shock today, with the news that last night a suicide bomber detonated a nail bomb after a concert at the Manchester Arena in the city centre, killing at least 22 people, including children, and injuring dozens more.

My mother lived in Manchester for several years before passing away in 2013, and both my wife and I still have family living there today. I have always considered the city to be the jewel of England, and the response of everyday Mancunians last night was humbling to witness via social media and the broadcast news.

Last night's cowardly attack was a shocking and appalling incident. As someone who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, my heart goes out to all those who have been affected, and to whom I offer my sincere condolences.

With this being a genealogy news blog, the only relevant piece of associated news to bring you is that Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society has just tweeted that "Our @MLFHS help desk was open as usual today in Central Library and will be again tomorrow" (i.e. Wednesday).

Monday, 22 May 2017

MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com) has introduced a new Collection Catalog on its site, which lists the historical record collections indexed and available on MyHeritage SuperSearch. From MyHeritage:

The catalog is useful for beginners as well as professional users. It lists next to the name of each collection the number of records in it and the date in which it was added or last updated, and indicates with a special icon which collections are new or recently updated. Some people call this a “card catalog” in reference to the way libraries used to index their inventory on cards in the old days, but our Collection Catalog is digital; It is available online and includes many useful functions.

It's a small world! As some of you might already know, the murder of my three times great grandmother Janet Rogers (nee Henderson) with a kitchen axe in 1866 at Mount Stewart Farm in Forgandenny, Perthshire, is Scotland's longest unsolved murder by a modern police force. Janet was clubbed to death in the kitchen by an unknown assailant, and her body was discovered lying beside the hearth by her brother William later that evening. It is a story about which I wrote a book a few years ago, The Mount Stewart Murder, in which I did not try to solve the case, but in which I instead tried to paint a portrait of the communty and my family over the course of a year, as the investigation unfolded, and in the aftermath of the trial, with the tragic consequences that ensued.

My four times great grandfather Andrew Henderson took up the tenancy of the Perthshire farm in 1845, along with his son William, although Andrew had passed away by the time of his daughter's murder in 1866.

Well as with any story that can be published, there can often be ripples in the aftermath! In this case, I've just been contacted by someone in New Zealand who is currently organising a family reunion, who got the shock of his life when he discovered my book. When my Henderson ancestors took on the lease for the farm in 1845, the previous holders, the Marshall family, had been this person's ancestors, with his family having held possession from 1763-1845 at a time when the farm was instead known as 'The Fluars'. I in fact mentioned the Marshalls in the book, although only the generation prior to the arrival of my lot.

Here's one of his comments: "When taking a sabbatical in 1998 I visited Mt Stewart and was deeply moved at that time to have had the opportunity to sit by the ‘hearth' and celebrate with a dram my families 70 years living and farming at Mt Stewart. The images and memory of that visit are still strong in my mind, though 'now' somewhat modified since reading your book. Your description of the farm and house brought a freshness once again to my family's Scottish history. Thank you."

I aim to please! :)

This is now the second time that I've been contacted by someone with a major connection to something written about in this book. In 2012, whilst at Who Do You Think You Are Live, I experienced perhaps the most astonishing coincidence I think I've ever encountered just shortly before the book's publication - you can read all about it at a previous blog post at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/wdytya-live-part-4-victims-descendants.html!

Friday, 19 May 2017

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com) has added over 1 million parish register entries from Nottinghamshire to its website. The additions are as follows:

Nottinghamshire Baptisms Index 1538-1917

Over 580,000 records have been added to our collection of Nottinghamshire baptisms. The collection now contains over 1.4 million transcripts that will reveal your ancestor's baptism date, baptism location, religious denomination, residence and parent's names.

Nottinghamshire Banns Index 1600-1812

Nottinghamshire Banns contains over 800 records that will allow you to discover whether your ancestors were married via this ancient legal tradition.

Nottinghamshire Marriages Index 1528-1929

Over 295,000 records spanning 400 years have been added to our collection of Nottinghamshire Marriages. The collection now contains over 984,000 transcripts that will reveal your ancestor's birth year, residence, marriage date, marriage place, occupation, residence, father's name, whether they were married by banns or licence and corresponding details for their spouse. Some records may also list the names of any witnesses present.

Nottinghamshire Burials Index 1596-1905

Over 423,000 new transcripts of original parish records and bishop's transcripts have been added to our collection of Nottinghamshire burials.

US based Thomas MacEntee has announced that the Geneabloggers platform (www.geneabloggers.com), which documents new and merging blogs available online of interest to the family history community, is to wind down, with the following changes happening this month:

Existing content will, however, remain online. In a blog post at http://www.geneabloggers.com/major-changes-geneabloggers-com/ Thomas has cited changes in the way that users are now accessing and presenting their information online as a reason for this development, and has also announced some further projects he will be developing in due course. Well worth a read...

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has released new parish records collections for Wiltshire in England. The source for the records is the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Chippenham, Wiltshire, England.

The new Reading Room combines the reference and local studies departments into one beautifully designed space. 12 public access pcs will supplement the extensive range of books about the local area as well as family history sources, newspapers, maps and photographs. There is plenty of space to study once you have finished contemplating the inspiring historic view. Local Archives as well as the unique special and rare books collections will be available for research by appointment in our new search room. If there was a competition for the most beautiful library space in Scotland we think the Reading Room would certainly be a winner.

A new Local Studies Centre - Visitors will be free to browse Dunfermline’s wide-ranging collection of local history archives, books and photographs in a purpose built study space. Special emphasis will be given to exploring some of the town’s hidden gems, including the Murison Burns Collection, a significant collection of books and memorabilia relating to Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns, and the George Reid collection of illuminated manuscripts and early books.Preservation and celebration of the world’s first Carnegie Library - The new development of a modern children’s library and the preservation and conservation of existing facilities within this historic building will create a cultural hub and learning resource for local residents and visitors alike.

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (https://rcahmw.gov.uk) has uploaded two digital maps that it has created, using late-medieval sources and historic parish boundaries, to show the boundaries of the commotes (cymydau) and cantrefs (cantrefi) of medieval Wales.

The commission notes that "future developments will examine how these boundaries have changed over time and map them in further detail. These digital resources will be made freely available to the public as an aid to encouraging research."

The Commission has also recently launched the The List of Historic Place Names of Wales, "a groundbreaking website that provides a fascinating insight into the landuse, archaeology and history of Wales. Over 300,000 place names are included in the List, reflecting the various forms and spellings used historically, and revealing the often forgotten or overlooked legacies of buildings, people, archaeological or topographical features in our landscapes."
For more on this visit https://rcahmw.gov.uk/list-of-historic-place-names-now-live/.

Wednesday, 17 May 2017

Sad news in that a body has been found in the search for missing 32 year old Ayrshire based archivist Alexander Singerman.

Ayrshire Police Division has issued the following release:

UPDATE - ALEXANDER SINGERMAN

With reference to our previous releases regarding 31 year-old Alexander Singerman, who was last seen in Auchencruive in Ayrshire on Wednesday 10 May 2017, please note:

Around 1115 hours today, Wednesday 17 May 2017, the body of a man was found in the area of Auchincruive Estate. Formal identification has still to take place, however, police believe the body to be that of Alexander Singerman and his family have been informed.

A post mortem examination will be carried out to establish the exact cause of death, however, the death is not being treated as suspicious.

Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS) has started a new Oxfordshire surnames research project, examining surnames recorded in Oxfordshire parish registers from 1538 onwards, currently estimated at up to 20,000 key variants. The team is also using many other early recorded sources to build a comprehensive database of Oxfordshire surnames. The aim is to trace their whereabouts in different parishes over time, their origins, hotspots, DNA connections and many other facets of Oxfordshire surnames. The project will take about 2 years to complete.

The project team is appealing for help from those who have a good recorded family history in Oxfordshire or who manage a one-name study. They are welcome to contact the team with a brief description and their contact details, so that when their surname is analysed they may be able to participate in submitting content for that name. All significant contributors will be acknowledged.

# At this stage the team want just a interest in being involved - so please send your contact details, name of interest, and place(s) in Oxfordshire where you have records of the name's occurrence, to the team leader Sue Honore via surname-project@ofhs.org.uk

# Later, you will be asked for more detail, tied to place - so wills, and newspaper records, for instance - or, for instance, gamekeeper licences - would all be of interest.

# It is anticipated that the analysis will be published as a book, with a page or so on the occurrence and detail of each name, and lots of maps, and with some information also made available on the OFHS website, in the members' section.

An archive of family papers for a sept of the Irish MacCarthy family has been repatriated from Oregon USA, to Cork City and County Archives (www.corkarchives.ie) in Ireland.

Daniel MacCarthy Glas’s family was directly descended from the 13th century princes of Carbery, the MacCarthy Reaghs and the MacCarthy Glas, based at Togher Castle near Dunmanway in Co Cork. The bulk of the material from his collection, dating from the 1700s and 1800, has been in private storage in the US for over a century, and contains over 1500 items, including a rare 1784 family pedigree of Gaelic prince Jeremiah MacCarthy (Diarmuid an Dúna), as compiled by John Collins of Myross, aka the last bard of Munster.

Did your ancestor fight in the Battle of the Somme or Passchendaele, Forces War Records may hold the answer.

Commemorating the 101st anniversary of the Battle of the Somme

FREE ACCESS TO UNIQUE WW1 INTERACTIVE BATTLEFIELD MAP - 1st and 2nd July only!
To commemorate the 101 anniversary and all those who served at the Battle of the Somme, Forces War Records will be making its WW1 Troop Movements FREE to access for the weekend only (from 1st 2nd July).

Our specialist data team has transcribed the official Orders of Battle publications, published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, as well as numerous official histories of the Great War, to help create this in-depth record of military operations and engagements by the British Army including the Somme offensive. All of this information is now available from Forces War Records in the form of this new map, and we hope that it will provide an insight into the movements and actions of your ancestor during the Battle of the Somme.

Access to this feature will be FREE to use from Sat 1st July until midnight 2nd July, 2017. There will be a free download available during the promotion: SOMME101 interactive pdf packed with facts, images and information on one of the bloodiest battles in human history.

Passchendaele 100 The Third Battle of Ypres, 30 & 31 July 2017

2 FREE BATTLEFIELD TOUR TICKETS - Offer runs from 16th - 20th July!
Passchendaele - the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July 10 Nov, 1917) has become one of the most iconic battles of the First World War and for the soldiers who fought, it was known as the Battle of Mud. In commemoration of the 100th year since the first battle commenced it is important that we never forget what happened on the battlefield, and honour the memory and bravery of those who served and those who fell, for generations to come.

In remembrance of this battle Forces War Records will be giving away 2 FREE tickets worth a total of £978, for the They called it Passchendaele four day tour starts on 11th September 2017, provided by Leger Battlefield Tours and specialist guides. The 4-day tour of the battlefields, includes a visit to Messines & Ploegsteert, Pilkem Ridge & Tyne Cot, Passchendaele & Poperinghe. Full details can be seen at https://www.leger.co.uk/battlefields/tours/they-called-it-passchendaele

HOW TO ENTER: To be in with a chance of winning these 2 tickets, email customercare@forces-war-records.co.uk. Please put Passchendaele100 as your subject and then state that you are available on 11th September or simply visit: https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/passchendaele100
This offer is open to full members only, and expires at 23:59 on 20th July 2017.

Please ensure that you are available for the tour dates from 11th - 15th September 2017 before entering the draw. *You will need to be a fully subscribed member to qualify for this offer. Well notify one winner and provide full details.

Unlock the Past Cruises (www.unlockthepastcruises.com) has officially announced its 14th genealogy cruise is now open for bookings, and I'm delighted to finally be able to confirm my involvement as a speaker - I'm very much looking forward to returning to the US, to see a part of the country I haven't visited before! We'll also be stopping off in the beautiful city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, where I had the pleasure to stay with Pat and Al Hocker two years ago whilst on a talks tour of the province.

This is going to be a great cruise - why not come along?! :)

Announcing the 14th Unlock the Past cruise (Alaska 2018)

Adelaide, South Australia, 17 May 2017 – Unlock the Past Cruises announces its 2018 cruise – an opportunity to discover more about your family history while in great company and visiting great destinations.

The Alaska cruise, 7-14 September 2018 on Royal Caribbean‘s Explorer of the Seas will leave from Seattle, visiting Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska and Victoria, British Columbia over 7 days.

The conference program will feature 40–45 talks in three streams from an international team of 12–15 speakers. No talks will occur when in port or during scenic cruising. An optional full day extra seminar is being considered the day before the cruise to offer additional value to the many who will travel from a distance. This will feature leading north American speakers and a different program.

The featured presenters on the cruise are:

* Chris Paton (Scotland) – Chris is one of the most sought after presenters in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland, Canada and the US. He has written many books (including nine for Unlock the Past) and numerous articles for genealogy magazines.

* Dick Eastman (United States) – Dick is widely known internationally for his Eastman’s online genealogy newsletter. He has been involved in genealogy for more than 30 years and has worked in the computer industry for over 40 years in hardware, software, and managerial positions.

Other speakers are Dr Janet Few and Caroline Gurney from England, Jan Gow from New Zealand, Shauna Hicks, Eric and Rosemary Kopittke, Mike Murray and Helen Smith from Australia and Cyndi Ingle from the United States. More will be announced. For details, bookings and registration of interest go to www.unlockthepastcruises.com/alaska. US Passport holders have the option of booking with our US travel agent partner, Cruise Planners: O’Connell Travel.

Some comments on previous cruises:

A genealogy conference on the high seas? Not only do you get all the fun of a regular cruise, you have the opportunity to network with other family historians from all over the world. The best part: the lectures and educational presentations are offered by some of the leading speakers in the genealogy industry. And Unlock the Past Cruises has the best selection of destinations and speakers hands down! – Thomas MacEntee, United States, 4th cruise presenter

Only one thing beats a good genealogy conference, and that is a genealogy conference that offers a chance to see a bit of the world, to enjoy some top class entertainment, and above all else, meet many other people sharing a similar interest. It’s also the perfect family holiday, with plenty of fun activities for your partner and kids to get up to on board whilst you’re attending conference sessions! – Chris Paton, Scotland, 2nd, 4th and 8th cruise presenter

About Unlock the Past Australian based Unlock the Past was established in 2009. It is the event and publishing division of Gould Genealogy & History which has served family and local historians since 1976. It is a collaborative venture involving an international team of expert speakers, writers, organisations and commercial partners to promote history and genealogy through innovative major events and a new publishing brand. It also maintains general and events directories online.

COMMENT: Unlock the Past is partnering with Cruise Planners: O’Connell Travel to provide a “local” booking option for those in the US. Terri O'Connell, the principal of this agency, is known to many as a genealogist and co-founder and Executive Director of The In-Depth Genealogist.

Although the cruise is over 15 months away at least two price rises have occurred since Royal Caribbean released the 2018 Alaskan cruise schedules and further increases are likely. Both Cruise Planners: O’Connell Travel and Unlock the Past Cruises hold a limited number of cabins at fixed prices, but it is recommend that bookings, or at least registrations of interest, be made early before our allocations sell out.

Tuesday, 16 May 2017

A Dictionary of Family History - The Genealogists' ABC, is a new book by Jonathan Scott, published by Pen & Sword Family History. At 247 pages in length, the book is a hefty tome that essentially acts as an encyclopaedia, almanac and directory of topics on a a variety of subjects for those researching their family history.

Quite wisely the author describes it in his preface as 'a dictionary of family history' and not 'the dictionary of family history', with the main criteria for subject selection being what the author has himself found of interest - as honest an approach as you will find anywhere! A huge range of topics are categorised in alphabetical order, although the categorisation is sometimes odd - the 1939 Register, for example, is indexed under R for Register (and not under a category such as 'National Identity'), 'Missing from the census' is in a different part of the book to the rest of the 'Census' categories (would it not have been better to index it as 'Censuses - missing entries'?!), and the miscellaneous Really Useful Websites category should perhaps have been an appendix - bearing in mind that so many other entries contain really useful websites! At times the book also assumes that the reader knows more than perhaps he or she does. If I want to look for a source to help me trace an ancestor who was a Scottish architect, for example, I cannot look up 'Scotland' or 'architects' as a keyword, I need to look for the entry marked 'Dictionary of Scottish Architects' - which is great if I know that such a resource exists, but considerably less accessible if I don't.

From this Scottish based Ulsterman's perspective, the book also in parts has a frustrating habit at times of switching to a default English based perspective on certain subjects without identifying itself as doing so - that in itself is not the issue, it is the fact that the book is inconsistent in its approach. If I look up the 1939 Register entry, for example, it tells me that 'British' returns are online on FindmyPast, but neglects to tell me that these are only for England and Wales, and with no further information available on how to access the Scottish and Northern Irish equivalents (which although not online, certainly exist). Similarly, on topics such as marriage, there is a great exposition on various terms and laws associated with marriage in England, but absolutely nothing on Scotland, where the law has always been completely different to its southern British neighbour (a situation found with other topics such as 'nonconformism'). That is not to say that Scotland and Ireland do not get a good innings in the book - there are various subject headings on counties and localised resources, discussion on subjects such as sasines (land registration records), and more. The separate poor laws for Ireland and Scotland quite rightly warrant and receive separate entries from those for England and Wales, and are given a fair hearing, as do topics such as civil registration in the different countries. It is just a pity that this does not apply consistently throughout the book on all topics.

Nevertheless, wherever you are from in the UK, this is certainly a book worth adding to your genealogy library. Along the way there are some fun facts and figures - I for one will certainly sleep better knowing what a 'nob thatcher' and a 'printer's devil' once did for a living! - and there are a plethora of resources you will certainly have never heard of, which you will find of interest. The author has spent many years working on family history publications such as Family History Monthly and Who Do You Think You Are, and has gathered many unique resources from years of work. It is packed with gems - albeit at times perhaps located in parts of the book where you might least expect them to be recorded.

A Dictionary of Family History - The Genealogists' ABC
by Jonathan Scott
Published by Pen & Sword Family History, £14.99
ISBN: 9781473892521

This database contains indexes for marriages in New York City from 1907 to 1995. The marriage certificates themselves are not available online at this time; these abstracts were created with limited information for filing purposes.Please note that the bride and groom appear on separate images, listed alphabetically according to surname.These records may contain:* name of the bride or groom* marriage date* page number* volume number* marriage number